38 Special, Berry 158 round nose issue

[jsg]

I have reloaded thousands of 38 special and 38 short colt. In the past I have used BBI, Xtreme, or Ranier for all my loads. Recently I bought 1500 Berry 158 grain round nose for my 38 needs.

I loaded 500 38 short colt and they seemed to function great and I had no issues seating or crimping. All my 38 short colt brass is Starline.

I am now reloading 1000 mixed brass 38 Special with this bullet. I have decided on 3.5 grains of WST, Fed SPP, and an OAL of 1.5". I am crimping .377 to .379 depending on the brand of brass. The issue I am having is the bullet will push down into the case if I press them on the bench (when testing crimp) in about 4 of the first 30 I have loaded. They are varied brands of brass (Winchester, Rem, Blazer). This degree of crimp has worked fine for a few thousand 158 grain Xtreme bullets very recently (but they did have a cannelure, the Berry bullets do not).

Any thoughts? I am hesitant to crimp much tighter since over crimping a plated bullet causes all kinds of problems.
Has anyone loaded these Berrys with success in the past?

[FightFireJay]

Only time I ever had issues with bullet setback (in a pistol caliber) was with a bad die that didn't resize brass appropriately.  Replaced the sizing die and I had neck tension to spare.

 

But to be sure we should cover the basics.

- did you adjust the sizing die all the way down to the shell holder?

- how much are you expanding the case mouth?

- have you measured the OD of the bullets to make sure they aren't .355 instead of .357?

[JD45]

When I first started loading it was all .38 Spl. on a single stage,  thousands of round a year.

I soon learned the the culprit in neck tension was case brand. Military and most Federal was the thickest and tightest.  Remingtons at the time were so thin that a bullet would almost fall in after sizing.

Crimp plays a small role in my opinion.

[practical_man]

Case wall thickness and diameter of expander ball are the likely culprits. Sorting by headstamp is my solution. I also quit using Remington brass except for mid range wadcutter target loads. 
 

Have you shot some to see if you’re actually getting recoil induced bullet pull?

[pcschwenke]

What type of Dies are being used?   I never had set back with my Dillon Square Deal.   I crimp, so the top 1/16" of brass is shiny.   Over the past 30 years, I loaded more than I want to admit without this issue.

[jsg]

OK, I think I have this licked but I made a few changes all at once so I cannot say exactly what solved the issue.

 

1) I replaced the RCBS crimp die with a Hornady crimp die I use for 38 Short Colt
2) I added the sizing die to station one (I normally store all my brass clean and sized).
3) I closed the crimp down to 76

After making the changes listed above, I have loaded 150 rounds and checked every one. None had a crimp issue. Oddly none of these changes were ever required for Xtreme, Ranier, or BBI bullets. Go figure...

 

Thank you for all your input.